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Thursday, July 19, 2012

Reading Independence after July 4th

Still reading, still trying to catch up on that list, and still working on adding my what IFS books to Createspace and Smashwords, I really ought to stop and do the housework. But first I'll post a few more book reviews and ponder why I didn't read these War of Independence books before July the fourth instead of after. I certainly learned a lot, and enjoyed the reading.

First in this week's reading was Doug Lucas' Conversations with a Dead Man. Told in a leisurely conversational style, the story paints a well-researched image of life at the time of the American War of Independence, bringing pride, prejudice, love and the economy into focus, all seen through the eyes of a man now buried in a small town cemetery. Enjoy with a 3-star well-balanced cup of coffee.

Next comes another War of Independence novel, Michael S. Adelberg's The Razing of Tinton Falls. Beautifully researched and convincingly imagined, it tells the story of a small town's demise through the eyes of Patriots, Loyalists, men, women, servants, slaves and children, each person's account adding a vivid new viewpoint and extending the story from the last. You'll find your sympathies pulled in many different directions as you're drawn into the viewpoints of the various characters, and you'll learn some history, all painlessly and enjoyably. A 4-star elegant cup of coffee would go well with this.

News on the Home Front, by Christopher Geoffrey McPherson, is a historical novel set a little more recently, in the time of the second world war. The American Home Front is different from the British, of course, and these upper class women reminded me of old movies. But their efforts to keep up a front of their own lead to a nicely emotional conclusion in this well-researched novel. Best enjoyed with a 3-star smooth cup of coffee.

Terror Comes Knocking, by Aaron Paul Lazar, is set in the present day against a backdrop of terrorism and war. The author combines global themes with small town America very successfully without doing any injustice to either--a rare feat! And the protagonist, Sam Moore, small-town doctor, doting grandfather, loving husband, frantic father of a daughter who hasn't phoned home in ages and a son away at war, is a wonderful character. His magical green marble's pretty neat too with its ability to almost answer questions. Enjoy this mildly paranormal mystery with a 3-star well-balanced full-flavored coffee.

And now for a short, pleasing, contemporary romance, New Orleans Gentleman by Jessica Joubert is a sweet lunchtime read about second chances and learning to trust. Enjoy a 1-star mild crisp coffee with this quick uplifting tale.